The Hella Mega Tour: Bridging Online and Offline Marketing

Kayla DiPilato

It is not everyday that three of the biggest bands in the alternative scene announce a joint tour, however this is what Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer did last week when they announced The Hella Mega Tour. Honestly, this tour probably would have sold very well even with little promotion. However, the team behind the production deployed a perfectly synced combination of on and offline marketing tactics to create significant hype.

Today, digital marketing is king and in-person marketing tactics have become less and less common. However, this example perfectly blends digital techniques and on the ground methods that even translated into online hype. Read on to hear more about what they did and how you could use these ideas for your business.

Offline Methods:

T-shirts

A few weeks ago random fans began receiving t-shirts in the mail that featured the names of three bands, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer. The fans had not ordered anything and there was no note in the package. These fans quickly took to social media to try to find out what was going on. This created hype across social platforms as people created speculation about the mysterious shirts.

Flyers

Next, fans attending various alternative music events across the country were handed flyers, that looked a lot like the t-shirts, outside of the venues. The people handing out the cards were intentionally vague and because this impacted a much larger number of people led to even more speculation online.

Billboards

Finally, in cities across America billboards were erected teasing the same information and leading to even more speculation online. When the concert was ultimately announced online and on radio, digital billboards were also illuminated at venues across the country at the exact moment when the details were released. I witnessed this first hand, as I have a view of Fenway park from my window and was home at the time of the announcement (thanks remote work!).

Online Methods:

Website

Fans uncovered the tour website for the tour after some of the offline marketing began going viral but before the initial announcement. The site displayed a password protected page and fans began collaborating online to try to discover the code. However, from conversations online it seemed they were unsuccessful and the website simply unlocked revealing all of the details when the tour was unveiled.

Social media accounts

Social media accounts were created for the tour, but they were set to private. About 1,000 people were accepted as followers and they then spread information about the content to others on social media. The accounts were unlocked at the time of the tour announcement

Hashtag

A hashtag with the tour name #HellaMegaTour began circulating on social media allowing fans to more easily connect and talk about the clues and the tour itself once it was announced. Now that this has been established, it will serve as a way to fans to share their excitement about the shows and photos once they attend the event.

Radio interview

When the tour was finally announced the bands did a live radio interview on Apple Music that coincided with the launch of the website and social media accounts. At this point, many fans had speculated correctly about the tour and were eager to have all of the details revealed. While the tour doesn’t even begin for 10 months tickets are expected to sell very quickly as a result of the viral marketing campaign.

Takeaways

We know that digital marketing has become king in today’s world, but this example shows that finding creative ways to bridge the online and offline world can lead to even greater results. People are always searching for “Instagrammable” offline experiences and providing them can lead even more people to your business.

For example, maybe you hold an event with a photo booth encourage people to tag your business in the post or use a branded hashtag. Or delight your customers by putting a cute extra in their package or encouraging them to share a picture of their order for the chance to win a prize. I have also seen more and more restaurants offering the chance to win a gift card if diners post photos of their meals. All of these helps bridge the gap between the online and offline world and can help bring your brand new customers.

The final takeaway is to consider the community that may exist amongst people interested in your products. How can you get a discussion going between these people that brings them together and in the process may remind them of the brand. For example, if you sell children's clothing perhaps you start a group on Facebook where parents share funny parenting stories. If these happen to go viral it will bring more people to the group and then your brand.

The recent marketing of the #HellaMegaTour serves as an interesting case study to examine how companies can connect their online and offline presence to broaden their audience. Have you seen other great examples of this? Let us know on Twitter, @KuvioCreative.

Kuvio Create is a web design and development agency that uses creative ideas and cutting edge processes to help our clients stand out. Check out our website to learn more.